Comparison of OHS course accreditation procedures in Australia

As OHS professional bodies have moved or are moving towards professional certification of their members,

the need for accredited programs of study has developed. This move has been prompted by the

requirement of the certification boards for the applicant to demonstrate that they have the minimum

knowledge required to work at a professional level.

The AIOH has had a course accreditation procedure for over 20 years as discussed by Whitelaw and Reed

(2011) which has been well recognised by the profession, but until 2009 only one course had been

accredited. In the last two years the AIOH has revised its procedure and now requires any university

applying for course accreditation to map their program against the learning outcomes as defined by the

AIOH as well as the being at a minimum of a Graduate Diploma (AIOH, 2011) which is equivalent to the

Australian Qualifications Level (AQF) level 8.

In 2011 a new course accreditation board was set-up to look at courses that are promoted to educate OHS

professionals that are not considered specialists and are core OHS Generalists. The new board called the

Australian Occupational Health and Safety Education Accreditation Board (AOHSEAB) is set-up under the SIA

but has members from all OHS professional groups in Australia in addition to academics, OHS

representatives from government, employer and employee groups. Programs being accredited under this

scheme have to be mapped against the OHS BoK and need to meet the respective AQF level of 7 or above

depending on the qualification.

This paper compares the two schemes in respect to both the procedure that is undertaken, and the

knowledge required to meet course accreditation requirements.